Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Transferware

On June 28, Marilyn at Delights of the Heart, wrote a post about transferware, and she shared a photo of a transferware teapot she had recently acquired. I wrote a comment on her blog that in my entire dish collection, I didn't have a single piece of transferware. Or did I???

A couple of days before Marilyn's post, my son and hubby were on a "guys trip" to Washington D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania. On the last leg of their trip they stopped in Gettysburg and went to the Civil War Headquarters of General Robert E. Lee.

At the gift shop my hubby bought me a teapot and teacup as a souvenir.

The cabin pictured on the teacup is General Lee's headquarters. The backstamp reads Old English Staffordshire Ware, Made in Staffordshire, England. The teapot comes from Madison Bay Company in East Berlin, Pennsylvania - a wholesale antique reproduction company, so it's not authentic/vintage even though it looks like it.

My new acquisitions sent me on a search through my china cabinets and cupboards, and I found I DID have some transferware after all! The Blue Willow plate is backstamped Booths, Made in England, and the Sadler Blue Willow teapot is made in England as well.

Do you know the story/legend behind the Blue Willow Pattern? [Abbreviated Version]

Knoon-shee, a lovely Chinese
maiden, bestowed her affections upon her father's secretary, Chang, but
she was commanded by her parents to wed a wealthy rival suitor.She refused to comply with their wishes,
and her enraged father locked her up in a house. She found a way to send a message to her lover,
'Gather thy blossom, ere it be stolen.' Emboldened by the message, Chang succeeded
in entering the apple orchard and carried off his beloved. They are seen
hurrying over the bridge. Knoon-shee with a distaff, and Chang carrying her box
of jewels, while the angry father follows after them armed with a whip.

The couple escaped in the
'Chinese ship sailing by' and landed on an island, where they took refuge in a little wooden house. But
the father and the wealthy, discarded suitor tracked them down and set fire to the house while
they were sleeping, and the lovers perished.

Next morning, from the ashes rose their
spirits, in the forms of two doves. They are pictured with out-stretched wings
flying off to the realms of eternal happiness.

* * *﻿

The Spode dish was a gift from a friend several years ago. It is backstamped The Spode Blue Room Collection, Regency Series, 'British Flowers', Made in England. The pattern was introduced in 1828.

My favorite plate, though not vintage transferware, is one I acquired from Denise LeCroy at Uniquely Tea. She had two and was willing to part with one. It is made by Mason's in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Mason's is the company that patented the term "ironstone."

3 comments:

Your blue pieces are simply wonderful, and that reproduction teapot sure does look authentic! The other day I came across not one but TWO Blue Willow tea canisters, which actually said "TEA" on them, and I got excited until I saw both had cracked lids that had been poorly patched together. Sigh. I would buy a reproduction of one of those in a heartbeat! And now, thanks to you, I *must* have one of those "Story of Tea" plates ... that would be perfect for display when I'm doing tea presentations!

Thanks for linking to me today. I love your new teapot and it does look vintage. I am not sure my new teapot is really very old, but I do love it. The more I see of transferware, the more I want. It is so beautiful and I love that they tell stories.